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"Day 'n' Nite" is the debut single by American rapper
Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ; formerly stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Clevelan ...
. The song was written and produced by Cudi alongside his longtime collaborator and friend,
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
-based producer Dot da Genius. It was issued as Cudi's commercial debut single on February 5, 2008, but had initially been released on Cudi's
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page and later featured on several music
blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
s in November 2007. The single, which was included on his breakout
mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...
''
A Kid Named Cudi ''A Kid Named Cudi'' is the debut mixtape by American rapper Kid Cudi, released on July 17, 2008, by New York City streetwear brand 10.Deep, in conjunction with independent record label Fool's Gold Records. The mixtape features guest appearances ...
'' (2008), also serves as the
lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...
from his debut studio album '' Man on the Moon: The End of Day'' (2009). The song has since been certified diamond (10x platinum) in the United States. The song peaked at number three on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song was ranked at number 15 on the "Best 25 Songs of 2009" list by ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' and also ranked at number seven on ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
''s "100 Best Songs of The Complex Decade".


Background

As a young man, Cudi moved from his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, to New York City, to pursue a music career. Upon his arrival, he stayed with his uncle, accomplished drummer Kalil Madi. His uncle later kicked him out, which subsequently led to Cudi writing "Day 'n' Nite":
"My uncle that I lived with passed in 2006. We were actually beefing because he forced me out the house when I didn’t have another situation set up, so I was bitter. I never apologized for it, and that kills me. That’s why I wrote "Day 'n' Nite." If he wasn’t there to let me stay with him those first few months, there would be no Kid Cudi. It fucked me up watching him go, but it was like, "I have to fulfill this destiny now for sure." Things were moving but they weren’t solidified yet. I had "Day ’n’ Nite," we were just getting started, and I was like, "This shit has got to pop off." I wasn’t taking no for an answer."
On Cudi's debut album ''Man on the Moon: The End of Day'', the song is listed as "Day 'n' Nite (Nightmare)", following the album's dream sequence. In 2012, in an interview with ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'', Kid Cudi revealed that the 1991 single "
Mind Playing Tricks on Me "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" is a song by Geto Boys, featured on their 1991 album '' We Can't Be Stopped''. The lyrics describe the mental anguish and exhaustion of life as a gangster, including dealing with symptoms of post-traumatic stress diso ...
" by the
Geto Boys Geto Boys (originally spelled Ghetto Boys) were an American hip hop group originally formed in Houston, Texas. They saw commercial success in the 1990s with the lineup consisting of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D. The group became best ...
also inspired him to write and record "Day 'n' Nite", saying: "My Mind Playing Tricks On Me is my favorite song in the world. I love it so much I wanted to make my own version of it. And then 'Day 'N' Nite' came out of it." In January 2014, Cudi announced he had recorded a remix of the song the day after he made the original in 2007. He revealed a snippet of the remix was briefly previewed on the intro of his 2008 breakout mixtape ''A Kid Named Cudi''. The remix was slated to appear on 2014's '' Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon'', however it failed to make the cut and was ultimately unreleased.


Release

The single was released February 5, 2008, as a digital download. It was released prior to Kid Cudi's signing to the
GOOD Music GOOD Music (often stylized as G.O.O.D. Music; a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams) is an American independent record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label entered an exclusive long-term worldwide music distribution, distributi ...
label. The song initially appeared on Cudi's first official project, a
mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...
titled ''
A Kid Named Cudi ''A Kid Named Cudi'' is the debut mixtape by American rapper Kid Cudi, released on July 17, 2008, by New York City streetwear brand 10.Deep, in conjunction with independent record label Fool's Gold Records. The mixtape features guest appearances ...
'', released in July 2008, in collaboration with New York street-wear brand 10.Deep as a free download. The mixtape caught the attention of Kanye West, whose then-manager
Plain Pat Patrick Reynolds, known professionally as Plain Pat, is an American record producer, Talent Manager#Music manager, talent manager, record executive and disc jockey (DJ). He is perhaps best known for his work with American rapper Kid Cudi, havin ...
, had introduced Cudi's music to him, subsequently leading West to sign Cudi to his
GOOD Music GOOD Music (often stylized as G.O.O.D. Music; a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams) is an American independent record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label entered an exclusive long-term worldwide music distribution, distributi ...
imprint later that year.


Crookers remix

"Day 'n' Nite" was
remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
ed by Italian production duo
Crookers Crookers is the musical project of Italian DJ and producer Francesco "Phra" Barbaglia. Crookers was originally a duo consisting of Phra and fellow producer Bot, who worked together from 2003 to 2012. When the two artists met, both were trying to ...
. The remix was first published as a free download by
Fool's Gold Records Fool's Gold Records is an independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York, United States. The label is known for its annual series of Day Off concerts across the US and Canada. History Fool’s Gold Records was founded in 2007 by DJs A-Tr ...
in March 2008, and released commercially in the United States in August 2008. It was released in the United Kingdom in January 2009 through
Data Records Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio. James ...
, debuting and peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks, behind
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...
's " Just Dance". The remix also charted throughout Europe, reaching the top ten in Belgium, the Netherlands and France. In Australia, the remix and the original charted separately, with the remix reaching number 15 while the original reached number 40. The remix had been selected by BBC Radio 1 Xtra presenter
MistaJam Peter Dalton (born 19 January 1983), known professionally as MistaJam, is a British DJ and radio presenter. He is known for presenting radio shows on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra from 2005 to 2020; since 2020 he has presented on Capital Danc ...
as his weekly "Jam Hot" record in April 2008, and was song of the week on Belgian radio station
Studio Brussel Studio Brussel is a Dutch-speaking radio station in Belgium, owned by the VRT. The music played is considered more alternative than the other big radio stations, and is aimed mainly at a youth audience. The channel is an initiative of the Fle ...
in December 2008. The Crookers remix is often played during his concerts, as a continuation of the original version. At the
Beatport Beatport is an American electronic music-oriented online music store owned by LiveStyle. The company is based in Denver, Los Angeles, and Berlin. Beatport is oriented primarily towards disk jockey, DJs, selling full songs as well as resources that ...
Music Awards of 2009, with nominees selected by unit sales on Beatport within 2008, the Crookers remix won the category "Best Indie Dance / Nu Disco Track". It appeared in Midnight Club: Los Angeles.


Music videos

There were three
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
s filmed for "Day 'n' Nite". The first, a pop art style video, was directed by the French director
So Me Bertrand Lagros de Langeron, known professionally as So Me, is a French graphic designer, animator, director and music producer. He is the art director for Ed Banger Records and also releases his own tracks on that label. He has created videos f ...
, who previously worked on music videos with a similar style such as
Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...
's " D.A.N.C.E." and
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
's " Good Life". The pop art music video was produced by Imetrages and also features a brief
cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
from
Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician, songwriter, and music producer who is the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has collaborated with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transplants ...
. It features Cudi walking around
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, doing a variety of mundane activities such as getting a slice of pizza, grocery shopping, or visiting a bar, but the overlay of graphic colors on top of the actual video disguises or transforms the daily scene into one of fantasy. These fantasized versions of reality reference the film ''
The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...
'' and later manifest Cudi's desire to perform music; ultimately they play on the song's theme of the "lonely stoner" whose quotidian existence transforms because of his ability to "free his mind." The video features interior and exterior shots of Los Angeles bar, The Smogcutter (located on Virgil) and the somewhat iconic video game arcade, "Family Arcade" (located on Vermont in Hollywood). The music video ranked at number 10 on
BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...
's ''Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2009'' countdown. It has received over 210 million views on YouTube. The second version was made specifically for the "Crookers Remix" of the song. It features Cudi as an employee at a typical British
corner shop A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lotter ...
called "Day 'n' Nite", with a reference that he smoked
marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
after his manager left him with the keys. Throughout the video, Cudi has several hallucinations, such as women taking off their clothes, or dancing for him. A minor joke in the beginning is the manager character mispronouncing the name Budi (Cudi's character), a reference to the popular media confusion regarding the pronunciation of "Cudi", as many people pronounced it "Kid Cooty" when he first emerged. Curiously, all products are British and pricing on the shelves is in pounds Sterling but pricing on labels behind the till are in Dollars. The manager also has an English accent while the police woman is in an American police uniform. The video was released without Cudi's permission and he expressed displeasure with it. He issued an explanation on his blog, asking that all bloggers remove the video from their blogs. The music video was filmed in an old 24 hour Londis shop on Lordship Lane in East Dulwich, South London. The shop is now a Superdrug store The third video that was released (also for The Crookers remix) was actually shot before the others in 2008, by New York directing duo, BBGUN. The video was made before Cudi was signed with Universal Motown on a budget of $250. It was BBGUN's directorial debut and was premiered on Pitchfork on September 9, 2009.


Covers and influence

The song is parodied on American singer
"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...
's thirteenth album '' Alpocalypse'', in his signature polka medley series, " Polka Face". "Day 'n' Nite" has been
covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...
by American
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...
Sugar Ray Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". Th ...
, live in concert and have recorded their version for RAWsession. The song was also covered by American experimental
punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
band ChainGang. British electropop singer-songwriter
Little Boots Victoria Christina Hesketh (born 4 May 1984), known professionally as Little Boots, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ. She was previously a member of the band Dead Disco. Since performing as a solo artist, she has released four albums: ''H ...
, recorded her rendition and uploaded it to
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. It was also interpolated by American rapper
Travis Scott Jacques Bermon Webster III (born April 30, 1991), known professionally as Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Scott has had five number-one hits on the U.S. ''Bil ...
on his track, “ Through the Late Night”, which features Cudi. In 2022, British rock band
Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...
covered the song and officially released it through
Spotify Singles Spotify (; ) is a Swedish audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services, with over 678 million monthly active users com ...
. Also in 2022, Canadian soul band
Chiiild Chiiild (pronounced "child") is a Canadian experimental soul band, fronted by Yonatan "xSDTRK" Ayal signed to Avant Garden Records * and 4th & Broadway (Def Jam Recordings). The Montréal-based band formed in 2017 and released their debut EP, ...
, released a cover of the song exclusively through
Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and digital music store operated by Amazon. As of January 2020, the service had 55 million subscribers. It was the first music store to sell music without digital rights manag ...
, as part of their
Black History Month Black History Month is an annually observed commemorative month originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the Af ...
rollout. In 2023, American
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band SUNVOLUME covered the song.


In other media

In 2022, the song was featured in the trailer for American television miniseries ''
Moon Knight Moon Knight is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in ''Werewolf by Night'' #32 (August 1975). The son of a rabbi, Marc S ...
''. The song was also featured in the 2014 video game
Watch Dogs ''Watch Dogs'' (stylized as ''WATCH_DOGS'') is an action-adventure video game franchise published by Ubisoft, and developed primarily by its Montreal and Toronto studios using the Disrupt game engine. The series' eponymous first title was rele ...
and Fortnite Festival.


Formats and track listings


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Accolades


BET Hip Hop Awards


Beatport Music Awards


MTV Video Music Awards


Grammy Awards


Release history


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Day 'N' Nite 2007 songs 2008 debut singles Kid Cudi songs Song recordings produced by Kid Cudi Songs written by Kid Cudi GOOD Music singles Universal Motown Records singles Songs written by Dot da Genius Songs about loneliness Songs about cannabis American pop songs Songs about depression Songs inspired by deaths Remix singles Songs about heartache